The yield on the 10-year Treasury note inched down to 2.342% from 2.359% on Wednesday. Yields fall as prices rise. Gold futures added 0.14% to $1,160.70 an ounce.

In corporate news, lower gasoline prices helped Wal-Mart report its first sales increase since 2012. But the retailer gave a less optimistic outlook for the year. Still, Wal-Mart shares rose 4.7% to close at $82.94.

U.S. stocks opened in the green Thursday, following global markets higher as investors focused on retailers and weekly jobless claims with the S&P 500 and the Dow topping Tuesday’s record closing levels

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 32 points, or 0.2% to 17,641.56, while the S&P 500 index climbed 2.28 points, 0.11% to 2,040.85.

Early Thursday the Labor Department revealed that the number of new claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, climbing by 12,000 to 2390,000, yet still remained at a level indicating an improving employment market.

Norfolk Southern (NSC), Toll Brothers (TOL) and J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) are just some of the stocks moving during today’s market action: Here’s a rundown:

Toll Brothers rose 3.3% to $33.29 after the home builder posted better-than-expected revenue for the quarter ended Oct. Sales surged 29% to $1.35 billion, lifted by strong demand in the home builder’s West Coast division to top the $1.31 billion expected by analysts.

Leucadia National (LUK) has been among the worst performers of the S&P’s 85 financial stocks. Today, the shares gained 1.4% to $24.13 after Barron’s editor Andrew Bary referred to the company as “A Mini-Berkshire At a Bargain Price.” The stock has been hurt by low returns outside Jefferies, the investment bank it bought early y last year. Still, many of its other business arte valuable, including Berkadia, a 50/50 joint venture with Berkshire

How about the real Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B)? Warren Buffett’s holding company rose 0.75% to $144.68 after it posted Friday a drop in profit tied to an investment loss. Still, results overall beat expectations as the company’s railroad arm and other units continued to ride a rebounding U.S. economy.

J.C. Penney dropped 5.6% to $7.38 after Barron’s writer Jack Houghwarned readers that the troubled retailer may have set unrealistic financial goals. At its Oct. 8 analyst day, Penney set a goal of $1.2 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, by 2017, or close to four times this year’s estimate. To get there, requires lifting sales at longstanding stores by 5.4% a year, boosting gross margins, and holding spending flat.

Norfolk Southern surged 2.6% to $115.89 after Barron’s writer Robyn Goldwyn Blumenthalweighed in bullishly on the stock amid merger talks within the railroad industry. Talks have circulated of a deal between Canadian Pacific (CP) and CSX (CSX) but fell apart last week. On Friday, hedge fund manager Bill Ackerman speculated that Canadian Pacific was could buy another rival. The next day, Blumenthal argued that regardless of Canadian Pacific’s intentions, Norfolk is the better bet for investor due to valuation and future growth opportunities.

McDonald’s (MCD) rose 0.3% to $95.13 Monday after the restaurant chain said its October sales held up better than expected with global sales dropping 0.5% in October to beat the 2.2% decline analysts were expecting.

Sotheby’s (BID) rose 4.8% to $41.36 after its third-quarter loss narrowed as the auction house benefited from lower costs and a higher tax benefit that offset a decline in revenue.

WhiteWave Foods (WWAV) dropped 3.2% to $35.75 after the food company reported a 34% rise in revenue during the third quarter, boosted by its Earthbound Farms acquisition and sales in Europe.

A rebounding economy has been good news for Warren Buffett’sBerkshire Hathaway (BRK. A).

The company’s second-quarter results, released late Friday, rose more than expected as its investment portfolio gained in value and dozens of operating businesses owned by the holding company reported growth.

Net income climbed to $6.4 billion, or $3,889 per Class A share, from $4.54 billion, or $2,763 per Class A share a year earlier. Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, were $2,634 per Class A share.

Revenue rose to $49.76 billion from $44.69 billion.

Analysts expected operating earnings of $2,485.21 per Class A share, and operating earnings of $1.66 per Class B share on revenue of $48.86 million.

Berkshire, which owns large insurance operations, a railroad, power plants, and apparel makers, has been run by Buffett for the last several decades. In June, it was once again named to Barron’s annual list of the “World’s Most Respected Companies,” where it sits at No. 2.

According to MarketWatch, Berkshire’s shareholders’ equity increased $12.1 billion and the total book value per Class A equivalent share climbed 5.6% to $142,483 as of July 30. Investment and derivative gains totaled. $1.4 billion.

DaVita HealthCare Partners (DVA) has hired a new chief financial officer. But the newest addition to the company’s executive suit isn’t fueling the 1.5% climb in Monday’s share price, now at $116.32.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A) took advantage of last week’s weakness in DaVita’s stock to boost its stake in the dialysis company. Berkshire was already DaVita’s largest shareholder before picking up 639,400 shares and elevating its stake up to roughly 14.8%, according to a regulatory filing released late Friday.

DaVita’s share price got hammered earlier last week after Medicare regulators proposed cutting reimbursements for dialysis clinics by 9.4% next year. Though only a proposal, it a far bigger reduction than anyone expected and sent investors running for the exit.

Granted, nothing is set in stone until this autumn. Often, initial proposals are less generous – or in some cases far more onerous – than the rates set when officials issue their final ruling, expected by November. Also, the cut could be put into effect over two years.

Still, last week, Raymond James analyst John Ransom downgraded DaVita to MarketPerform citing near-term certainty. And in the Barron’s Take published on July 2, this same writer advised a cautious attitude towards the stock. The U.S. dialysis industry has already endured a 2% Medicare funding cut due to sequestration, and now DaVita could struggle to grow its domestic business.

Berkshire’s interest in DaVita has attracted lots of attention. In May, the two entered a so-called “standstill agreement” that caps Berkshire’s stake at 25% and prohibits the investment form from organizing a hostile takeover.

A unit of Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to purchase Nevada utilities company NV Energy in a multi-billion dollar deal.

MidAmerican Energy Holdings,a Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) subsidiary, said it would pay $5.59 billion for NV Energy (NVE). The latter’s shares surged 23% in after-market trading to $23.73, within pennies of the Berkshire offer. The enterprise value of the deal stands closer to $10 billion; NV Energy had $5 billion in total debt in 2012, and $298 million in cash, according to FactSet financial data here.

Last week, a round of utility auctions revealed pricing weakness, and some U.S. utilities sold off this week, providing a nice entry point for Warren Buffett and his bargain-hunting crew. This month through Wednesday’s close, shares of NV Energy had fallen 7%.

And NV Energy pays a nice 3.8% yield.

The company fits the Buffett mold: hard assets and a clearly defined market. Founded near the turn of the century, NV Energy delivers elecricity and natural gas service from a Nevada base. While many utilities are focused on one fuel source, NV Energy has gas, coal and oil generating units; it also is has committed to rewnewable power generation over time. These utilities are in close proximity to coal production, and shale oil and gas production in Western states.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) added two new positions in the second quarter, according to an SEC filing detailing the company’s holdings.

Berkshire added about 27 million shares of refiner Phillips 66 (PSX) and 2.8 million shares of drilling equipment company National Oilwell Varco (NOV) by the end of the quarter, according to the filing. Berkshire received Phillips shares as part of its spinoff from ConocoPhillips (COP), which Berkshire has held for years.

Berkshire also liquidated its entire position in Intel (INTC) and sold 64% of its Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) stake, according to InsiderScore.com. We detailed Berkshire’s tech holdings here.

Warren Buffett has been saying for more than a year that the housing market is bound to turn higher — in fact, he had to apologize for being a little early on that prediction. But he’s clearly still feeling conviction, because Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) is putting more money behind the bet.

Berkshire is bidding $3.85 billion for a loan portfolio and the mortgage business of Residential Capital LLC, a unit of Ally Financial that went into bankruptcy last month, Bloomberg reported. Berkshire’s bid is by no means a lock, and it could be months before anyone knows who will emerge as the buyer of the portfolio. But it’s clear that Buffett’s enthusiasm for the sector hasn’t waned. Berkshire has also purchased a brickmaker, and has been buying real estate assets through a joint venture with Leucadia called Berkadia.

“Berkshire will probably purchase more papers in the next few years. We will favor towns and cities with a strong sense of community, comparable to the 26 in which we will soon operate. If a citizenry cares little about its community, it will eventually care little about its newspaper. In a very general way, strong interest in community affairs varies inversely with population size and directly with the number of years a community’s population has been in residence. Therefore, we will focus on small and mid-sized papers in long-established communities.”

What Buffett doesn’t mention is that smaller papers often have monopoly power in their communities, making them the most important print advertising vehicles in the area. In bigger cities, competition in print and online has sapped newspaper profits. Just today, the New Orleans Times-Picayune announced it would start publishing three times a week.

Buffett also wrote that newspapers need to stop giving away their content for free on the Internet.

Warren Buffett just got bullish on a sector that not even the most fearless investors have been willing to touch in recent years: newspapers.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) will buy 63 newspapers, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Winston-Salem Journal, from Media General (MEG) for $142 million, the Associated Press reported. Media General is up 41% on the news.

Buffett has always liked newspapers, buying the Buffalo News and a large stake in the Washington Post decades ago. More recently, Berkshire Hathaway snapped up his hometown paper, the Omaha World-Record.

About Stocks To Watch

Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.